Vacuum controlled auxiliary igni



Sept. 1, 1953 E. B. MORRISON 2,650,965

VACUUM CONTROLLED AUXILIARY IGNITION SWITCH FOR- INTERNALCOMBUSTION ENGINES J Filed May 25, 1951 Inventor 0 W490 5. MURR/SON Patented Sept. 1, 1953 VACUUM CONTROLLED AUXILIARY IGNI- TION SWITCH FOR INTERNAL-OOMBUS TION ENGINES Edward B. Morrison, Franklin, La., assignor of one-hall. to Robert C. Morrison, El Dorado,

Ark.

Application May 25, 1951, Serial No. 228,275

(01. ZOO-83) Claims. 1

This invention relates to a novel construction of vacuum controlled circuit breakers for the ignition system of a stationary internal combustion engine to provide a unit which will function automatically to interrupt the ignition circuit and stop operation of a stationary combustion engine when the vacuum in the intake manifold becomes either too high or too low so that a stationary engine will be stopped automatically if the load increases beyond a certain limit or decreases beyond a certain limit.

One object of the present invention is to provide an automatic circuit breaker for stationary internal combustion engines used for example to operate pumping units so that in the event that a breakage occurs in a pumping apparatus connected to the engine so that the load is released from the engine, the ignition circuit of the engine will be broken, or in the event that an obstruc' tion occurs creating an overloading of the engine interruption of the ignition circuit will be likewise accomplished.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vacuum controlled automatic circuit breaker which will break the ignition circuit in the event of overheating of the engine producing a low vacuum or in the event of other improper operation of the engine likewise producing a low vacuum such as failure of one spark plug of the engine to fire.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vacuum controlled switch or circuit breaker which may be adjusted to vary the range of changes in vacuum which may occur before the switch is actuated to break the ignition circuit.

A further and particularly important object of the present invention is to provide a control switch which when tripped as a, result of a high or low pressure for interrupting the ignition circuit will remain in a circuit interrupting position to prevent re-starting of the engine until a manual ignition switch is closed and which is incapable of being reset until the internal combustion engine is again operating normally with a proper vacuum.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation and partially diagrammatic showing the invention in an operative position;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the circuit breaker looking from right to left of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the circuit breaker taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one element of the device;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of another element thereof, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in section and partly diagrammatic illustrating another application of the circuit breaker.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the vacuum switch or circuit breaker in its entirety is designated generally 8 and includes a body portion or housing, designated generally 9, which is shown as being cylindrical in cross section but which may be of any desired shape. The housing 9 is provided with a bottom I0 having a centrally disposed boss or bushing I I. The cylindrical side wall I2 of the housing 9 is shown provided with a plurality of openings I3 affording access to the interior thereof; however, a single opening of sufiicient size may be employed. The side wall I2 is provided at its upper end with an outturned annular flange I4. The open top of the housing 9 is closed by a dome I5 which is provided at its bottom with an outwardly projecting annular flange I6 of the same diameter as the flange I4 and which is disposed thereabove. A diaphragm I? separates the upper end of the housing 9 from the dome I5 and the marginal portion of the diaphragm I1 is disposed between the flanges I4 and IS. A plurality of fastenings I8 extend through the flanges I4 and I6 and the outer portion of the diaphragm I! for clamping the diaphragm between said flanges. The diaphragm I'I combines with the dome I5 to form a chamber I9 which is sealed off from the interior of the housing 9 by the diaphragm IT. A threaded rod 20 has an upper end extending centrally through the diaphragm I! and is secured thereto by a pair of nuts 2| which threadedly engage the rod 20 above and below the diaphragm I I. The opening in the diaphragm through which the rod 20 extends, as seen at 22, is sealed by a pair of gaskets 23 which are disposed against opposite sides of the diaphragm I1 and which are each clamped between the diaphragm and one of the nuts 2|. The rod 20 is provided with a restricted unthreaded lower end 24 which extends slidably through the boss II and terminates below said boss.

The housing 9 is provided with a partition 25 adjacent its upper end but disposed substantially below the diaphragm I! when the latter is in its normal position of Fig. 1. The partition 25 may be adjustably secured to the cylindrical wall l2 by a threaded connection as seen at 26 and is provided with a relatively large central opening 2? through which the rod 20 loosely extends. A collar 28 is threadedly mounted on the rod 2t below the partition 25 and is adjustable relatively thereto to provide an adjustable seat for the lower end of an expansion coiled spring 29 which is mounted on the rod 20 and the upper end of which bears against the underside of the partition 25 for normally urging the rod 25 and diaphragm ll downwardly. A pair of disks 30 and iii are threadedly connected to the rod 21] below the collar 23 and are normally spaced a substantial distance apart with the lower disk 3! disposed adjacent the rod portion 2d and the upper disk 30 disposed near the collar 28. The rod 29 is provided with an elongated slot 32 of substantial length, the lower end of Which terminates above and adjacent the rod portion 24.

A pivot pin or shaft 33 extends loosely through an intermediate portion of the slot 32 and is suitably anchored at its ends in portions of the cylindrical wall i2. An elongated lever 34 is provided intermediate of its ends with a large opening 35 through which the rod 20 loosely extends, as best seen in Figure 3. The lever 34 is provided, contiguous with the opening 35, with transversely aligned apertured ears 36 which depend from the side edges thereof and through which the pin 33 loosely extends for fulcruming the lever 34 on the pin 33. The lever 34 has a longer end terminating in a hook 3! to which is secured the upper end of a contractile coiled spring 38 the lower end of which is anchored to a fastening 39 which is secured in and rises from the housing bottom it. The other end of the lever 34 has a downwardly and outwardly projecting terminal portion 40 which is disposed at an obtuse angle to the remainder of the lever 34 and which is provided on its outer side and adjacent its terminal with a transversely extending projection 4i defining a downwardly facing shoulder and an upwardly facing rounded cam surface. The lever 34 is provided with a depending projection 42 disposed between the hook 31 and the opening 35 and adjacent the latter and above the lower disk 3!. The lever 34 is also provided with an upwardly extending projection 43 which is disposed on the other side of the opening 35 and which terminates beneath the upper disk till.

A standard 44 is secured to the bottom I by one or more fastenings 45 and extends upwardly therefrom between a portion of the cylindrical wall l2 and the lever end til. A platform 46 is provided with transversely aligned depending apertured ears l! which are spaced from the ends thereof and which are journaled on a pin 43 which is secured to the upper end of the standard 4 4 to pivotally mount the platform 46 for rocking movement about a vertical axis. The platform 45 has an inner end 49 which detachably engages under the lever projection 4|, in one position of the platform 46. On the other side of the ears M, the platform 46 is provided with a depending apertured ear t to which is anchored the upper end of a contractile coiled spring 5! the lower end of which is anchored to a fastening 52 which is secured to and rises from the bottom It. Beyond the ear 50, the platform is provided with a restricted portion 53 which extends loosely through a vertically elongated slot 54 in the housing wall I2. The outer end of the platform 46 forms a handle 55, for a purpose which will hereinafter become apparent. A spring clip '56 is secured to and rises from the platform 46 adjacent the ears 41.

A conventional mercury switch 51 is detachably mounted in the spring clip 56 longitudinally of the platform 46 and both electric contacts of said mercury switch are disposed at one end thereof and are formed by complementary terminals of conductor wires 58 and 59 which terminate in said end of the mercury tube in spaced relationship to one another. The opposite ends of the conductor wires 58 and 59 are connected to the inner ends of contact posts 6!] and BI which extend through and are insulated fro-m the housing Wall I2.

A portion of an ignition system of an internal combustion engine is illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 1 including a current source 62 and a conductor 63 leading therefrom to a part of the ignition system 64. Interposed in the ignition circuit 63 is a conventional ignition switch having the spaced contact posts 66 and 6'! connected to spaced portions of the ignition circuit and by which said circuit is interrupted when the switch 65 is in an open position as seen in Figure 1. A conductor 68 is connected at one end to the opposite, outer end of the contact post and at its opposite end to the contact post 66 and a conductor 69 is likewise connected at one end to the outer end of the contact post BI and at its opposite end to the switch contact post El.

The dome I5 is provided with a boss 1!) in which is secured one end of a tube H which communicates with the chamber Hi. The opposite end of the tube 1! is tapped into and communicates with the intake manifold, a part of which is shown at 12 in Figure 1 and which constitutes a part of the internal combustion engine having the ignition system 64 and ignition circuit 63.

The openings I3 are preferably closed by a suitable removable closure 73, as illustrated in Figure 1, 2 and 3 for protecting the parts contained within the housing 9 and which closure 13 may be readily removed to afford access to the parts disposed within the housing 9 and when in an applied position does not interfere with the platform end 53 or the contact posts 60 and 5!, as illustrated in Figure 2.

When the engine to which the switch 8 is connected is not in operation, spring 29 will force the rod 20 downwardly causing the upper disk 30 to engage projection 43 and swing the lever 34 clockwise as seen in Figure 1. When this occurs, the projection 4! which forms a trigger will swing downwardly and out of engagement with the inner end 49 of the platform thereby releasing the platform so that the spring 5i may cause the platform to swing clockwise as seen in Figure 1 to a position inclined in the opposite direction to its position of Figure l and in which position the mercury switch 51 will be in a circuit interrupting position. To start the engine, the ignition switch is closed and the engine started in a normal manner. This will result in a vacuum being created in the chamber ii! for drawing the diaphragm ll upwardly and back to its normal position of Figure 1. With the engine operating under a normal load and with a nor mal vacuum so that the diaphragm I I is disposed as seen in Figure 1, the handle 55 is engaged to swing the platform 46 counterclockwise on its pivot 48 and in so moving, the platform end 49 will engage the rounded upper side of the trigger 5| to swing the lever 34 clockwise against the action of the spring 38 until the platform end 49 clears the trigger 4| after which it will assume its position of Figure l beneath the trigger 4| and abutting the terminal portion of the lever end 40 so that the mercury switch 57 will be in a circuit closing position. The spring 38 will prevent the lever 34 from swinging clockwise from its position of Figure l and as the platform end 49 abuts the outer side of the terminal portion of the lever end 40 and engages under the trigger 4| and since the pivots 48 and 33 are both disposed above the platform end 49 and terminal of the lever end 40, the lever 34 will be held against counterclockwise swinging movement under the biasing action of the spring 38 by the platform 46 and the platform 46 will in turn be held against clockwise swinging movement under the biasing action of its spring 5| by the lever end 40 and trigger 4| so that the mercury switch will be held in a circuit closing position. The ignition switch 65 is then opened and the ignition circuit 63 then includes the conductors 68, 58, 59 and 69 and the mercury switch 57 for supplying current from the source 62 to the ignition system 64. Should a very low vacuum subsequently occur in the intake manifold 12 due to overloading of the engine through any cause, overheating or improper engine operation such as a missing spark plug, this will produce a corresponding reduction in vacuum in the chamber |9 allowing the spring to displace the diaphragm l1 and rod downwardly so that the disk 39 will strike the projection 43, as previously described, to rock the lever 34 clockwise until the trigger 4| disengages the platform end 49 to permit the platform to be swung clockwise by its spring 5| to position the mercury switch in a circuit interrupting position to thereby interrupt the ignition circuit and stop the engine. Similarly, should an excess vacuum occur in the intake manifold 12 due to a breakage releasing the load from the internal combustion engine, this will similarly produce an increased vacuum in the chamber |9 to draw the diaphragm I! upwardly from its position of Figure 1 so that the lower disk 3| will then engage the projection 42 and likewise rock the lever 34 clockwise on its pivot 33 to similarly disengage the trigger 4| from the platform end 49 so that the mercury switch v 51 will assume a circuit interrupting position. After the circuit breaker 8 has thus assumed a circuit interrupting position due to either a high or a low vacuum and which will result in stopping of the engine, the spring 29 will displace the rod 20 and diaphragm downwardly from their positions of Figure 1 so that the mercury switch 5'! cannot be returned and held in a circuit closing position until the ignition switch 65 has again been manually closed and the engine started and the operation thereof resumes a normal condition with a normal vacuum in the intake manifold. Thus, the switch 8 not only automatically stops the engine in the event of defective operation of the engine, overloading or underloading but also prevents returning of the switch to an operative position until the improper operation has been corrected. It will likewise be readily apparent that the disks and 3| may be adjusted toward or away from the projections 43 and 42, respectively, to vary the extent that the vacuum may vary in the chamber |9 before the circuit breaker 8 will interrupt the ignition circuit. Also, the engine may be stopped when the circuit breaker 8 is connected to the ignition circuit by pushing upwardly on the rod end 24 causing the circuit breaker to assume a circuit interrupting position in the same manner as previously described in reference to an excess vacuum in the chamber l9.

The circuit breaker 8 may be similarly employed with an engine utilizing a magneto ignition system, as illustrated in Figure 6 by simple removing and reversing the mercury switch 51 in the clip 56 so that the mercury switch will be in a circuit interrupting position when the platform end 49 is held by the trigger 4|. The conductor 69 is then connected to a conductor wire of the magneto and the conductor 68 is then grounded at 14. Accordingly, when the platform end 49 is released by the trigger 4| due to either an excessive high or low vacuum, as previously described, platform 46 will rock clockwise as seen in Figure 6 so that the platform and mercury switch will be inclined downwardly and outwardly to position the switch 51 in a circuit closing position to thereby ground the magneto at 14 to thus break the magneto ignition circuit. The magneto is generally illustrated in Figure 6 at 15 and a portion of a conductor 16 thereof is shown to which the conductor 69 is connected. The platform 46 may be manually held in its inclined position of Figure 6 until the engine having the magneto ignition system 15 is operating at normal load or the connection of the conductor 68 to the ground may be made after the engine is operating at normal load or the conductor 69 may be connected to the conductor 16 at such time. Likewise, any suitable latch may be provided for maintaining the platform 46 in its position of Figure 6 until the engine is operating under normal load.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A vacuum operated ignition circuit interrupter comprising a vacuum chamber, a diaphragm defining one wall of said chamber, a housing supporting said chamber, a rod secured to and projecting from the diaphragm, spring, means urging the diaphragm and rod outwardly of the chamber, a lever pivotally mounted by the housing for swinging movement longitudinally of said rod and having a trigger portion at one end thereof, a platform pivotally mounted on the housing for swinging movement in a plane parallel to the plane of swinging movement of the lever and having an end engaging under the trigger portion and against an end of the lever whereby the platform is held inclined in one direction, a platform spring urging the platform to swing to an inclined position in the opposite direction, a lever spring connected to and urging the lever to swing in the opposite direction of swinging movement of said platform under the biasing action of the platform spring, a mercury ignition circuit breaking switch supported on the platform and disposed with its axis parallel to the plane of the platform, and abutment members secured to the rod above and below the lever, said lever having portions disposed on opposite sides of its pivot to be engaged by said abutment members when the rod is displaced toward or away from the vacuum chamber by movement of the diaphragm in response to a fluctuation of the negative pressure in the vacuum chamber for swinging the trigger portion away from the vacuum chamber and out of engagement with said platform end to release the platform to be swung to an inclined position in the opposite direction by the platform spring to rock the mercury switch to a circuit interrupting position.

2. A circuit interrupter as in claim 1, said abutment members being adjustably mounted on the rod and adjustably spaced thereby relatively to the lever for varying the amount of movement of the rod in either direction necessary to rock the lever sufficiently to move the trigger portion to a position for disengaging said platform end.

3. A circuit interrupter as in claim 1, said platform having a handle portion at its opposite end disposed externally of the housing and adapted to be manually engaged for swinging the platform against the action of the platform spring, said trigger portion having a rounded upper surface engaged by said first mentioned platform end when the platform is swung by the handle against the action of the platform spring for rocking the lever end carrying the trigger portion away from the first mentioned platform end whereby said first mentioned platform end is caused to clear the trigger portion and assume a position therebeneath and in abutting engagement with a portion of the lever.

4. A circuit interrupter as in claim 1, said mercury switch being disposed in a circuit closing position when the platform end is engaged and held by said trigger portion in an inclined position.

5. A circuit interrupter as in claim 1, the abutting portions of the lever and platform end being disposed on on side of a line extending between the pivots of the lever and platform when the platform is held in a tilted position by engagement with the trigger portion to retain the platform and lever against rocking movement under the biasing action of the platform spring and lever spring, respectively.

6. A circuit interrupter as in claim 1, said mercury switch being disposed in an open position when the platform is held in an inclined position by engagement with th trigger portion, said mercury switch assuming a circuit grounding position when the trigger portion disengages said platform end and the platform is rocked by the platform spring to move the mercury switch to an inclined, circuit closing position.

'7. A circuit interrupter as in claim 1, an adjustable stop carried by the rod and engaging said spring means for varying the tension thereof and the amount of vacuum required to maintain the abutment members against movement to positions for rocking the lever sufficiently to release the platform.

8. A circuit interrupter as in claim 1, said rod having an exposed end adapted to be manually engaged for displacing the rod toward or away from the vacuum chamber to move one or the other abutment members into a position to rock the lever and disengage the platform from the trigger portion for interrupting the ignition circuit.

9. A vacuum operated circuit interrupter comprising a vacuum chamber, a diaphragm defining one Wall of said chamber, a supporting structure supporting said chamber, a switch support pivotally mounted on said supporting structure, a detent pivotally mounted on the supporting structure, said switch support and detent having adjacently disposed ends located between the pivots thereof and remote ends located outwardly of said pivots, spring means individual to said switch support and detent, the spring means individual to said switch support urging said switch support to assume an inclined position with the remote end thereof inclined downwardly from the switch support pivot, a mercury switch mounted on said switch support with its axis parallel to the axis thereof, the adjacent ends of the switch support and detent interengaging for maintaining the switch support inclined in the opposite direction with its inner end inclined downwardly from the switch support pivot and with the mercury switch disposed in a circuit closing position, an abutment carrier connected to and projecting from the diaphragm, abutment members supported by said carrier for engaging the detent on opposite sides of the pivot thereof for disengaging the detent from the switch support whereby said spring means individual to the switch support will rock the switch support to incline the mercury switch in the opposite direction to assum a circuit interrupting position, said diaphragm being responsive to a fluctuation of the negative pressure in the vacuum chamber for displacing the carrier toward or away from the vacuum chamber to cause one or the other of said abutment members to rock the detent to disengage the switch support therefrom.

10. A vacuum operated circuit interrupter as in claim 9, said abutment members being adjustable on the carrier to vary the pressure fluctuation of the vacuum chamber required to disengage the detent from the switch support.

EDWARD B. MORRISON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,194,304 McClellan Aug. 8, 1916 1,601,477 Kritzer Sept. 28, 1926 1,668,605 Reif May 8, 1928 1,960,856 Stacey May 29, 1934 2,061,079 Lacoe Nov. 17, 1936 

